Disgraced cloning expert sets up new lab

Disgraced cloning expert Woo Suk Hwang, currently standing trial for fraud over faked stem cell research, has opened a new lab focusing on cross-species organ transplants, South Korean officials confirmed on Friday.

Suam Biotechnology Institute Foundation, a joint enterprise set up by Hwang and a medical company, received the green light to start operations from the science and technology ministry. The foundation, consisting of an office and a lab in southern Seoul, was set up last month with an initial capital of &dollar;2.6 million.

“Anyone can set up such a foundation as long as it is properly equipped and its purpose of research is legitimate,” a ministry spokesperson said.

In his application filed with the ministry, Hwang stated that the lab would focus on producing genetically engineered animal organs to be transplanted into humans. In January 2006, he was barred from engaging in any research utilising human eggs.

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Fake breakthrough

Hwang became a national hero when he claimed that his team had created 11 stem cells tailored to specific patients – a breakthrough that could have paved the way to cures for a variety of diseases.

However, a panel of experts at Seoul National University, where Hwang was a professor, concluded in January that the stem-cell claims were bogus (see Hwang faked all research on human stem cells). The panel also said the first stem cell allegedly created by Hwang’s team from a cloned human embryo, and documented in a 2004 article in the journal Science, was also bogus.

He was fired from his post at Seoul National University, and six other professors were suspended from their jobs or had their wages cut. Hwang was indicted in May on charges of fraud, embezzlement and ethical breaches.